122 MYSTIC ISLES 



now; it is no longer the French Establishments of 

 Oceania. It is between Great Britain and France." 



A peremptory order was given to drive every one off 

 the quay, and though the crowd chaffed the police, the 

 sweep of wharf was left free for the marchings and 

 counter-marchings of the big men. 



"What would be the result? Would the entire 

 British population of the ship resist the taking away of 

 any of the crew? Oh, if the paltry French administra- 

 tion at Paris had not removed the companies of soldiers 

 who until recently had been the pride of Papeete ! And 

 crown of misfortune, the gun-boat, sole guardian of 

 French honor in these seas, was in Australia for repairs. 

 Eh hien, n import e! Every Frenchman was a soldier. 

 Did not Napoleon say that? Nom de pipef 



Wilfrid Baillon, a cow-boy from British Columbia, 

 was standing near me with his arms folded on his breast 

 and a look of stern determination on his sunburned 

 face. 



"We must look sharp," he said to me. "We may 

 all have to stand together, we whites, against these 

 French frog-eaters." 



The tension was extreme. The warrants had not 

 come from the British consul, and there seemed no dis- 

 position on the Noa-Noa to save the face of la belle re- 

 puhlique, for the blackened and blackguardly stokers 

 still dangled their legs over the rail and made motions 

 which caused the officials to shudder and the ladies to 

 shut their eyes. 



The agent of the vessel in Papeete, an American, ap- 

 peared. He talked long and earnestly with the secre- 

 tary-general and the first and second, and to lend even 



